LDF spiked open process to favour Inkel

Kochi: The LDF government scuttled an open, transparent process to develop KSIDC’s Industrial Growth Centre at Panakkad and ordered the transfer of the land to Inkel, a private company in which the government holds minority shares.

According to people familiar with the process, seven companies had responded to KSIDC’s call for Expression of Interest to develop the land by July 30, 2007, the deadline.

Five of them made a presentation before KISDC’s Project Implementation Committee (PIC), headed by then industries principal secretary T Balakrishnan.

However, the PIC later informed KISDC that the government would prefer to transfer the land to Inkel. Accordingly, Mr Balakrishnan issued the order in 2009.   

Asked for comments on a DC report about the irregularities in the transfer of land, Inkel sources had claimed that the land had no takers while it was in the possession of KSIDC.   

Sources said DLF Commercial Developers, Gurgaon; SREI Infrastructure Finance, New Delhi; Subhash Projects and Marketing Ltd, New Delhi; Ramky Infrastrcuture, Hyderabad; Zoom Developers, Mumbai; Parsvnath Developers, New Delhi and K Raheja Corp, Mumbai, responded to KSIDC advertisement. Of them, four of them submitted detailed proposals.

DLF Commercial Developers had proposed to invest Rs 668 crore to set up an IT/ITES park, in addition to the land price. It also offered create 10,000 jobs. SREI Infrastructure said it will set up a multi-product growth centre to accommodate industries in readymade garments, food processing, biotechnology and coir.

Ramky Infrastructure’s proposal was for a multi-product industrial park for spices, rubber, coir, herbal and medicinal plants, food processing, textile & granites and light engineering.

They also offered to create 10,000 jobs in 5 years. Parsvnath Developers had put out the offer to invest Rs 5,357 crore and create an IT/ITES park.